2025 Texas & Southeast Best Projects
Award of Merit, Office/Retail/Mixed Use: 7001 Burnet Road

7001 Burnet Road
Austin
Award of Merit
Submitted by Austin Commercial
Owner Colina West Real Estate
Lead Design Firm Gomez Vasquez International
General Contractor Austin Commercial
Civil Engineer Wuest Group Engineering & Surveying
Structural Engineer MJ Structures
MEP Engineer HM3 Engineering Consultants LLC
As construction kicked off for this 200,000-sq-ft, six-level mixed-use commercial development, the team first coordinated protection of four heritage trees located near major construction zones.
Extreme summer heat increased the risk of soil instability and worker fatigue. To address this, the team worked with certified arborists to define exclusion zones, install root protection mats and implement daily hydration and soil monitoring routines.
To realize the project’s highly customized garage facade, the architect’s vision was first 3D modeled, which the precast manufacturer used to engineer the final forms.
Although the design originally required 54 unique forms, the team optimized the design to just 10 layouts by analyzing joint placement, panel weight and connection points. A critical permitting issue emerged late in construction when the city questioned the proximity of the garage to the primary egress stair despite prior approvals.
The team brought on a life safety consultant and developed a code-compliant model that leveraged an alternative method of compliance. This solution avoided costly rework and kept the project on schedule.


